Providing for the health and well being of healthcare patients, be it in a hospital, residential multi-unit living facility, or in a private home of such a patient, is a noble and honored profession tendered by a veritable army of home nurses, caretakers, aids, and family members, to provide the necessary care for persons of our community who are unable to fully care for themselves.
One of the most important roles of such caretakers provide for the personal hygienic needs of their patients, including assisting patients with showering. Although the degree of mobility of patients varies across a spectrum, and thus the manner in which any particular patient may be bathed likewise varies, a large percentage of patients are sufficiently mobile that they are able to make use of a shower, but require the aid of a caretaker.
Showering, a seemingly simple and mundane task to those who are fortunate enough not to require the aid of a caretaker, brings with it a multitude of problems and complexities when involving a patient and a caretaker. For example, human nature and societal conventions serve to create a angst in the minds of patients due to the necessity to remove one's clothes to shower, and thus, becoming exposed to the caretaker. Additionally, use of a conventional shower barrier forecloses a caretaker's access to the patient, thus creating other logistical and safety related problems, some of which are described in more detail below.
Accordingly, an improved shower barrier apparatus having an access opening or mechanism therethrough is disclosed to overcome or mitigate some of the problems associated with conventional shower barriers.